Vmware - VCloud FAQ

What is cloud or utility computing?

Cloud computing is an approach to computing that leverages the efficient pooling of on-demand, self-managed virtual infrastructure, consumed as a service. Sometimes known as utility computing, clouds provide a set of typically virtualized computers which can provide users with the ability to start and stop servers or use compute cycles only when needed, often paying only upon usage.
What is the VMware vCloud ?

VMware vCloud is a common set of cloud computing services for businesses and service providers – with support for any application or OS and the ability to choose where applications live, on or off premise. The core components of the vCloud are the ecosystem of VMware Ready vClouds delivered by industry leading service providers, broad set of applications delivered as Virtual Appliances and vApps on a foundation of VMware technologies including VMware vSphere and the vCloud API.

vCloud is important to Enterprise customers as it enables them to leverage the industry leading service providers, software vendors and advanced VMware technology, to build private clouds and seamlessly deploy test labs, disaster recovery or simple flex capacity off premise, to the cloud, as needed.

For SMBs, vCloud delivers peace of mind in knowing the services they get from hosting/service providers for disaster recovery, test and dev or just simple infrastructure on demand will be reliable and flexible.
How is cloud computing different from hosting or grid computing or other terms heard in the industry?

Various terms (such as cloud computing, elastic computing, grid computing, mesh computing) are used to describe the ability to tap into Internet-based resources that can be accessed on demand to perform computing tasks.
What's the difference in "on-premise", "hosted", and "cloud"?

On-premise, or private, clouds are a new trend VMware is seeing within enterprises. As businesses begin seeing the opportunity to leverage resource pools and simplified provisioning to centralize computing power to better service distributed business units, they also realize the challenges of billing and SLAs required to achieve these goals. The cloud has been defined in many ways, but VMware views the cloud as an elastic, self-provisioning, billable on a usage basis, way to acquire computing needs. This can be private (on-premise) or public ( hosted off site ). Unlike the cloud, a hosted solution usually means there’s a fixed rate to pay, like by month or by number of servers, as well as the inability to scale infrastructure on an as-needed basis. Normally hosted services imply that a fixed set of computer resources are made available.
Where can I find a vCloud Service Provider?

Use the VMware Partner Locator to find a vCloud Partner that meets your needs. These partners are included in the VMware Service Provider listing
Why should I choose VMware to build a cloud over other alternatives in the market?

The VMware Cloud Platform defines a new class of technology that provides a reliable, extensible and manageable cloud infrastructure.

1. Runs any application cost effectively and predictably in a shared, on-premise or off-premise infrastructure cloud.
2. Aggregates industry standard x86 systems, storage and network into unified logical resource pools to provide the highest reliability and the lowest cost way of running applications.
3. Allows users to automatically manage applications to pre-defined SLAs by providing built in availability, security and performance assurance for all applications

How will I be certain my applications and data are secure in the vCloud?

Private VMware-based vClouds will inherit the same security currently delivered by VMware vSphere. For vClouds provided by the vCloud partner ecosystem VMware will denote service providers that meet certain standards for security, scale and production readiness with the VMware Virtualized vCloud moniker to assist in finding the right service provider for you.
Can I move my applications out of a VMware Virtualized vCloud to another vCloud?

Yes. The cloud computing platform of services that are common across all vCloud found both in your datacenter or via 3rd parties enable applications to be migrated with minimal impact. VMware provides a broad array of containers to facilitate cloud computing including virtual machines, VMware Ready Virtual Appliances and soon to be available vApps.
What OS does the vCloud support?

VMware encapsulates the OS of your choice within the virtual machine and isolates it from the hardware; users can take the OS and the application within that virtual machine and deploy it on any hardware. That in combination with the broad ecosystem of VMware Ready vClouds that support all different operating systems enable a choice of OS.
Is vCloud a product or a service?

Neither. It is a set of enabling technologies including VMware vSphere, the vCloud API and additional cloud computing services yet to be announced that are brought to end customers both via private clouds built on VMware and the vCloud service provider ecosystem.